Chandigarh: Sanjeev Arora, who recently won the Ludhiana West bypoll after resigning from the Rajya Sabha, has been appointed as Punjab’s new NRI, Industries and Commerce Minister. He was sworn in as the 17th minister at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan on Thursday.
Arora’s induction into the cabinet was assured following his bypoll victory. This marks the seventh cabinet expansion during the nearly three-and-a-half-year tenure of the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab.
The NRI department was earlier held by Kuldeep Dhaliwal, who has now resigned from the post. The industries department, previously with Tarunpreet, has also been allocated to Arora, leaving Tarunpreet with the panchayat and culture departments.
Speaking after his resignation, Dhaliwal said Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann informed him that the department needed to be handed over to someone else, to which he agreed, adding that he is not involved in any departmental disputes.
Following Arora’s induction and Dhaliwal’s exit, the Punjab cabinet now has 16 ministers, with one seat still vacant.
